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Campagnolo's new electronic group still doesn't have an official name and is currently labeled with a generic "Campy Tech Lab" badge for now.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

3 / 68

Campagnolo's usual thumb paddle is replaced by a lever-style switch on the new electronic group.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

4 / 68

The bright green hoods on Movistar's team bikes are no aftermarket bits - they're molded with the Campagnolo logo and look to include the same Vari-Cushion feature as on other Campagnolo Ergopower levers.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

5 / 68

Movistar fitted all of its bikes with bright green hoods on the new Campagnolo electric levers.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

6 / 68

The Campagnolo electronic rear derailleur still somehow manages to maintain the company's aesthetic sense, though the company will likely want to do something about the susceptibility to rust on that little spring.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

7 / 68

Aside from the aluminum inner plate, the motor and actuator rod are surrounded by a swath of carbon composite.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

8 / 68

The rear derailleur cage is borrowed from Campagnolo's Record group. Note the tied-and-soldered rear spokes on Movistar team wheels, too.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

9 / 68

The Campagnolo electronic front derailleur is necessarily bulky to house all of the extra hardware.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

10 / 68

It looks like there's a charge port on the bottom of the Campagnolo electronic group's battery.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

11 / 68

Movistar mechanics secured each battery to the down tube with electrical tape - perhaps just to keep them from rattling over the cobbles.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

12 / 68

This Movistar bike sported an extra tether on the Campagnolo electronic group's battery, though curiously, the other end wasn't attached to anything.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

13 / 68

A simple bit of electrical wrap secures the wire to the front brake line on Campagnolo's new electronic group.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

14 / 68

Movistar's Pinarello Dogma frames look to use identical internal access ports for Campagnolo's new electronic group as on Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 package.

More titanium bolts from Shimano's Yumeya package are found on Fabian Cancellara's (Leopard Trek) front derailleur.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

25 / 68

We've seen Shimano cassettes on SRAM-sponsored bikes before but this SRAM PG-1070 cassette (hidden behind a Shimano lockring) on a Shimano-sponsored bike is an interesting reversal. In all fairness, it was a fluke rather than the norm and perhaps related to the ridiculous number of spares teams had to bring to Ronde van Vlaanderen.

Another sign that Filippo Pozzato's bike is no off-the-shelf Focus. These dropouts are nowhere in its range.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

60 / 68

Speaking of mystery equipment, Filippo Pozzato's (Katusha) "Focus" also isn't a bike that's currently listed in the company catalog, nor does it share key design cues. We're guessing it's a custom build similar to what Ridley used to do for the flamboyant Italian last year.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

61 / 68

Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) had this mysterious Vision wheel on the front of his spare bike. It's not currently listed in the Vision catalog nor does the surface finish resemble that of other wheels in the lineup.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

62 / 68

Typical Vision carbon rims use a random carbon finish and there's a step just inboard of the brake track. So what's this rim?

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

63 / 68

FDJ set off from Brugge on a mix of Lapierre Sensium and Xelium frames.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

64 / 68

The shaped tubes are said to provide a softer ride on the Lapierre Sensium relative to the top-end Xelium.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

65 / 68

Some FDJ riders set off from Brugge with 35mm-deep Shimano Dura-Ace carbon tubulars.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

66 / 68

Two bits of paper - one on the stem and another on the top tube - call out the key cobble sections and climbs for Ronde van Vlaanderen on this FDJ machine.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

67 / 68

Lapierre says this "C+ elastomer provides a noticeable amount of cushioning to the rear end - a valuable asset to have on the cobbles.

(James Huang/BikeRadar.com)

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Other FDJ riders were using more traditional box-section tubular rims with Hutchinson tires.

Though Campagnolo continues to be coy about the group's release as a consumer product, all of the bits are impressively well finished and look to be simply undergoing final testing before being made available to the public (we're guessing at this year's Eurobike show).

At least conceptually, there are a number of similarities to Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 package on Campagnolo's group, including shift buttons placed in familiar positions analogous to the mechanical version, a rechargeable battery mounted below the bottle cage on the down tube, a tiny control box zip-tied to the stem, and powerful stepper motors housed inside each special derailleur with conventional limit adjust screws.

Campagnolo's battery is noticeably larger than a Di2 one but looks to have some additional features. The charge port is accessible without removing the battery from the mount and there's also an LED indicator in the opposite corner.

Interestingly, the battery also includes a loop for a short tether (as seen on one Movistar bike). Whether that's actually intended to save a self-ejecting battery during a ride is unclear (and it seems strange if that were the case), Movistar mechanics were nonetheless seen securing each battery to the down tubes of the riders' internally routed Pinarello Dogma frames with some electrical tape at the start area in Brugge – hopefully just to prevent rattling over the cobbles.

Trek experimenting with steel rear derailleur hangers

Trek is experimenting with hardened steel derailleur hangers on team bikes to gain a little extra shifting performance and better durability in crashes.: trek is experimenting with hardened steel derailleur hangers on team bikes to gain a little extra shifting performance and better durability in crashes.

Breakaway rear derailleur hangers have saved countless frames since their inception but even with the best designs, they're often not as stiff as one-piece dropouts with integrated hangers. This can result in compromised shift performance given the tightly spaced cogs and occasionally finicky setup of modern 10- and 11-speed drivetrains but in a race situation, a hanger that an everyday consumer might want to break off (saving a frame) could also signal the end of the day for a pro who might prefer a damaged – but still rideable – bike instead.

Leopard Trek team bikes were equipped with machined steel hangers at the start of this year's Tour of Flanders in lieu of the standard aluminium ones on consumer bikes. According to Trek pro road team liaison Ben Coates, Trek is currently experimenting with several different hangers to determine the best balance of strength and stiffness for optimal performance – with stronger and stiffer giving better shift performance and durability in a crash but too much of a good thing possibly leading to a damaged dropout (and a dead frame).

Team bikes were also fitted with Bontrager's trick DuoTrap speed and cadence sensor integrated into the non-driveside chain stay and the bikes of some key riders – notably that of Tour of Flanders favourite Fabian Cancellara – was also outfitted with Shimano's gold-anodized Yumeya titanium bolt kit for a little extra bling factor.

First it was Zipp and HED, and now Bontrager and Mavic who have jumped into the wide-profile carbon wheel fray with new models taking to the cobbles at this year's Tour of Flanders.

We'd seen Bontrager's new wheels before on Andy Schleck's bike at the Leopard Trek training camp in Mallorca back in January but the fact that they're here at 'De Ronde' offers up evidence of Trek's confidence in their strength on the cobbles – though we'll have to wait and see if they'll still be in use for the ultimate test of road wheel durability next Sunday at Paris-Roubaix.

Just to recap, the new Bontrager carbon rims feature the same 50mm depth as the current Aeolus 5.0 but with a fatter 25mm width and a more rounded nose. The bladed spokes also use external rather than internal nipples, too, and they're laced to Bontrager carbon-bodied hubs with guts borrowed from DT Swiss.

Team wheels were fitted with 25mm-wide Schwalbe tubulars for the Tour of Flanders but we expect the riders to switch to fatter rubber come Sunday.

Some omega pharma-lotto set off from brugge using mavic's new m40 40mm-deep carbon tubular wheels.: some omega pharma-lotto set off from brugge using mavic's new m40 40mm-deep carbon tubular wheels.

Some Omega Pharma-Lotto riders set off from Brugge using Mavic's new M40 40mm-deep carbon tubular wheels.

Meanwhile, Mavic's new medium-depth carbon tubular wheels were found on the bikes of Omega Pharma-Lotto, Liquigas, and Garmin-Cervélo. Measuring a modest 40mm deep, the so-called "M40" wheels boast a wider profile for better tire support and presumably improved strength. Based on claims from competitors' comparable wheels, we expect Mavic to tout better aerodynamics with wider tires, too.

Mavic's new Exalith sidewall treatment was also widespread in the peloton, likely on account of their claimed better braking performance in the wet. These were absent on the company's new all-carbon M40 wheels but most of the Cosmic Carbone SLRs, Ksyrium SLs, and R-Sys wheels we spotted at the start were equipped with the uniquely textured surface.

Finally, Vision snuck a mysterious shallow-profile carbon tubular wheel (or perhaps a rebadged rim from a third party?) on to the front of Filippo Pozzato's Katusha team bike, too. The carbon tubular rim measures around 30mm in depth and is laced to Vision's standard aluminium front hub with 20 straight-pull bladed stainless steel spokes and external brass nipples.

Then again, the rear wheel on Pozzato's bike wore a Vision label but also didn't match up with the company's current 50mm rim offering so we're not exactly

Lapierre's new Sensium cushions the pavé

The shaped tubes are said to provide a softer ride on the lapierred sensium relative to the top-end xelium.: the shaped tubes are said to provide a softer ride on the lapierred sensium relative to the top-end xelium.

Lapierre Sensium

It's well known that the cobbles of the Tour of Flanders aren't nearly as brutal as the worse of Paris-Roubaix but even so, they're hardly glass-smooth, either. Several FDJ riders headed toward Meerbeke aboard Lapierre's new Sensium model, a full-carbon frame that uses specially shaped tubes, more relaxed geometry, and a small elastomer embedded in the seat stay wishbone to lend extra vertical flex as compared to the company's top-end Xelius model.

James started as a roadie in 1990 with his high school team but switched to dirt in 1994 and has enjoyed both ever since. Anything that comes through his hands is bound to be taken apart, and those hands still sometimes smell like fork oil even though he retired from shop life in 2007. He prefers manual over automatic, fizzy over still, and the right way over the easy way.

Discipline: Mountain, road, cyclocross

Preferred Terrain: Up in the Colorado high-country where the singletrack is still single, the dirt is still brown, and the aspens are in full bloom. Also, those perfect stretches of pavement where the road snakes across the mountainside like an artist's paintbrush.